News Shorts

Fox rules with all-star game
Fox swept last night in both households and adults 18-49 with its broadcast of the “Major League All-Star Game.” Without accounting for time zone differences, the game averaged during primetime a 9.6/17 household rating and share and a 4.8 adult 18-49 rating, beating its closest competitors by seven household shares. Meanwhile, CBS’s “Big Brother 2” improved its ratings significantly from Saturday night’s performance. Tuesday’s household rating increased by 60 percent and adult 18-49 rating by 80 percent from the weekend edition, and Tuesday’s ratings were nearly even with what the premiere episode earned last Thursday. The preliminary Nielsen household rating and share and adult 18-49 rating for Tuesday night were: Fox 9.6/7 and 4.8, ABC 6.1/10 and 2.6, CBS 5.6/10 and 2.6, and NBC 5.4/9 and 3.3. On Monday, NBC’s “Fear Factor” and “Weakest Link” made a full recovery from last week’s ratings tumble. “Fear Factor’s” household rating increased 20 percent from last week, and its adult 18-49 rating went up by 25 percent. “Weakest Link’s” adult 18-49 rating increased 16 percent from last week, while its household rating remained relatively even. NBC easily won the night, losing only one half-hour during the entire evening in either households or adults 18-49. A repeat of CBS’s “Everybody Loves Raymond” won households at 9 p.m. The preliminary Nielsen household rating and share and adult 18-49 rating for Monday night were: NBC 8.1/14 and 5.5, CBS 6.7/12 and 3.1, ABC 5.7/10 and 2.5, and Fox 3.0/5 and 1.7.

Huey named editorial director at Time Inc.
After a drawn-out succession contest that has stretched over a span of years, suddenly things have fallen into place at Time Inc. with yesterday’s elevation of John Huey to editorial director, the company’s No. 2 editorial side job. Huey, who had been overseeing Time Inc.’s business and finance magazines, replaces Walter Isaacson, who earlier this week was named chairman of CNN, a sibling of Time Inc. under corporate parent AOL Time Warner. As editorial director, he’s now the obvious choice to succeed editor in chief Norman Pearlstine, who is expected to retire within the next few years. Before his move to CNN, Isaacson was considered next in line for Pearlstine’s job, and corporate editor Isolde Motley was also thought to be in contention. Huey’s chief function will be to supervise editorial operations at the company’s New York-based weeklies, which include Time, Sports Illustrated, People and Entertainment Weekly, as well as the titles in the Fortune Group, which include Fortune, Money, Mutual Funds, Business 2.0 and Fortune Small Business. Together with Motley, he’ll also play a part in managing Time Inc.’s monthlies, while Pearlstine’s role will tilt more heavily in the direction of interfacing with AOL and CNN.

Malone out as AT&T board mulls Comcast offer
After initially giving Comcast’s $58 billion bid for AT&T Broadband a chilly greeting, AT&T Corp.’s board of directors now looks to be ready to enter into formal talks with Comcast. They will do so without board member John Malone, who resigned Monday. Malone had intended to wait until Aug. 10 to leave, at which time his Liberty Media Group was to be spun off from AT&T. In a letter to AT&T chairman and CEO Michael Armstrong, Malone said he was departing early because negotiations with Comcast would likely go on past Aug. 10, and also because he wished to avoid potential conflicts of interest arising out of his other media holdings. He has called Comcast’s offer "insufficient." Comcast claims that the acquisition will allow for synergies that could save the company as much as $2.8 billion annually. Comcast upped the tempo of its takeover efforts after AT&T moved up the date when AT&T Broadband, the nation’s largest cable carrier, is to be spun off from AT&T. AT&T intends to hold a shareholders meeting on the matter in September. Other companies said to be eyeing AT&T Broadband include AOL Time Warner, Vivendi Universal, Disney, Charter Communications and Microsoft.

'Temp Island' couple's suit won't be heard
It looks like the couple that got booted off "Temptation Island" for being parents aren’t going to get their day in court. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has denied a motion by lawyers for Ytossie Patterson and Taheed Wilson to hear their case against Fox Television and Rocket Science Laboratories, producer of the seduction-themed reality series. The two filed suit for defamation in March, claiming that the show’s producers knew from the start that Patterson and Wilson had a child but accepted them anyway, only to expose them on the show and claim that they had concealed their status as parents. In Monday’s ruling, the judge affirmed that a contract Patterson and Wilson signed with Fox requires them to work out disputes in arbitration rather than in court.

For real this time: News Corp. to buy DirecTV
Take it with as much salt as you like, but General Motors is said to be on the verge of a deal to sell Hughes Electronics to News Corp. Such an agreement would give Rupert Murdoch's media and entertainment company both DirecTV and its 9.5 million satellite TV subscribers. News Corp. currently owns the Fox broadcast network, cable channels FX and Fox News as well as satellite TV operations in Asia, Latin America and Europe. Negotiations between GM and News Corp. have dragged on for 18 tedious months, veering between imminent consummation and total disintegration, but officials from GM have recently been quoted as saying that the sale is more or less a done deal, with only the details still under discussion. In May, GM's board promoted vice chairman Harry Pearce to chairman of Hughes in hopes of speeding along a deal.

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